Author: Matt Burns

The last we heard the Nexus One was navigating its way through the FCC and Verizon was targeting a “Spring 2010″ launch. But now there’s a rumor floating around that states quite clearly that March 23, 2010 will be the launch date. Interesting…

We reached out to our Verizon contacts and none of them could confirm this date. But the rumor doesn’t originate from a Verizon source, but rather someone within Google. The March 23rd date does fit within the Spring 2010 launch window and also happens to be during the CTIA wireless conference. So even though this is purely a rumor at this point, you may wanna hold of on your phone buying decisions a bit longer as the rumored launch date is less than 30 days away. The Nexus One is noice.

Sometime today, Feburary 26, 2010, Sprint Pre and Pixi owners should get a nice little surprise on their handsets. It seems like Sprint and Palm are ready to deliver the latest webOS update, which should bring the aforementioned updates along with a bunch of other enhancements conveniently listed for your perusal after the jump.

Fixes:
* Time Zone bug fixed
* Network time sync bug fixed to reflect accurate Network time
* Bluetooth car-kit transition to device corrected
* No EV icon bug fixed (random)
* Random browser formatting bugs fixed
* Fixed bug that incorrectly displayed Sprint when actually was Digital Roaming
* Missing Contact issue specifically with swap down to 1.2.9.1 or less
Feature Updates:
* Phonebook Transfer (import & export)
* Adds Video Capture capability & edit
* Calendar Enhancements
* Messaging Enhancements
* Improved Performance (Phone & CAL)
* Email Enhancements
* Notification Enhancements
* Adds Adobe Flash 10.0 (Pre Only)
* NOTE: The 1.4 software adds the ability to use the Flash 10.0 Adobe plug-in which will be available shortly from the Palm Appl Catalogue.

Sprint via BGR via Giz

BlackBerry users have long suffered with horrible mobile Internet browsers. But help is on the way in the form of a WebKit browser. The company showed off the new goods at its MWC press event. No word on the expected release date, but seeing as BlackBerry users have dealt with it this long, they can probably hold out a little longer. That is if they don’t get baited by the new HTC/Android hotness first.

We just got a hot tip from one of our Verizon buddies. Apparently Verizon Wireless is starting a new BOGO campaign tomorrow that includes both of its Android handsets – the Droid and Eris – both Palm phones – the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus – along with the LG Chocolate Touch and Samsung Alias 2 features phones. We hear the promotion will allow you to mix and match any of the eligible handsets or even a Winmo/feature phone of equal or lesser value. Of course the buyer will be required to sign a two year contract but that’s par for the course on these types of deals.

Our tipster says the stores have been prepped and the promo is set to begin tomorrow. No word on how long it will run so you better get your new phones soon.

Scammers beware though, remember Verizon recently hiked its ETFs on most advanced devices to counter those that were taking advantage of Verizon’s genius nature. It’s no longer worth it to simply get two new phones, pay the ETF and hawk the other one on eBay for a quick profit.

Motorola is keeping the Android party rocking with the Cliq XT — or Quench in Euroland. The handset doesn’t bring anything we haven’t seen before including the aging Android 1.5 release along with Motorola’s social media-centric MOTOBLUR home screen replacement. A respectable 3.1-inch 320 x 480 occupies the front, while a 5.0 MP cam with LED flash is housed on the backside. Wi-Fi, HSDPA, A-GPS rounds out the rest of the notable specs on the otherwise boring phone.

In all, the Cliq XT seems like a poor successor to the Cliq. It’s not that the hardware is lacking, but the XT doesn’t take advantage of any improvements to Android as they share the same 1.5 release. The upcoming Verizon-bound Devour also uses the 10-months old Cupcake 1.5 release. Motorola is clearly committed to Android — which is awesome — but hopefully future plans include releasing handsets with the latest Android updates. That’s the whole point of Android after all.

Expect the Cliq XT at T-Mobile here in the States and on European carriers within the next month or two.

Good ol’ VZW just released details about its new unlimited plans and AT&T should probably take notes. The voice-only plan dropped from $99 to only $69 and the voice/text plans is now only $89 instead of $119. The same plans are available on a pre-paid basis for only $5 more per month. The new, lower-priced plans are available today, and just like all of Verizon’s services, current customers can switch to these plans even if they are under contract with another rate plan.

Data packages were also revised, but not nearly as much. The $9.99 for 25MB data package is now available for all VZW 3G multimedia phones. Previously, this plan was only available with select featurephones, but not anymore. Now anyone but smartphone users can opt for that package.

Speaking of smartphones, Verizon didn’t touch the $29.99 per month plan. It’s still the same and probably not going to drop anytime soon. That’s going to be Verizon’s bread and butter as the carrier launches more and more Android and Blackberry devices.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

We spent a few minutes with the just-announce Backflip and, well, it’s a Moto Cliq with weird swivel keyboard. Really, everything about the device feels the same as the Cliq. Even the love-it-or-hate-it MotoBlur interface is still in place. But depending on the price and carrier, it could be a popular product.

The device is different and that’s important these day. The Backflip’s claim to fame is that there is touchpad on the backside of the screen. It allows users to interact with the phone without their fat fingers getting in the way. Controlling the phone this way wasn’t exactly instantly intuitive during our hands-on, but it was certainly.

But the interface is somewhat clunky and laggy just like the Cliq. It doesn’t have the power or the grace of the Droid — or the keyboard or the solid feel or the 5MP camera.

The Backflip isn’t anything that will change the Android landscape like the Droid or Nexus One. It’s just a solid entry-level Android device that tweens and geeks on a budget will probably dig.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

An internal T-Mobile memo from 12/29,

Google, with support from T-Mobile, is scheduled to launch a new Android device in early January. The Google Android phone will be sold solely by Google via the Web.

That pretty much says it. Now, how about a confirmation on the $199 price rumor?

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies

Oh noes! BIS is down for nearly everyone in the States and Canada. It’s really just the email service. Web browsing, SMS, BlackBerry messenger, and phone calls are seemingly fine. We’ll keep you updated, but it seems like a good time to give your thumbs a rest. You’ll have to get back to work soon enough. [CrackBerry via Gizmodo]

Update: RIM has confirmed the outage, but didn’t state when the service will be restored.

Update 2 @ 1:50 pm EST:It might be coming back…we’re getting a flood of emails now. Waiting for a confirmation from RIM.

Update: Got it. Everything should be all good again. Now get back to work.

Crunch Network: TechCrunch obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies